Jia Xiu Was Someone Else

The moment he blacked out, the head of the question-setting team had a lot on his mind.

Why had Saint Delro Academy's examinations run for so many years without any major issues, yet under his watch, two batches of candidates had produced two such "talents"?

Was there something wrong with this year's candidates, or was there something wrong with his ability to do his job?

It couldn't be the latter, could it?

Oh, magic, why had you forsaken me so...

When the team leader woke up again, he was already lying in bed.

"I've told you to eat less pickled fish. Eating so salty is bad for your health. You're liable to faint when you get worked up."

A familiar voice came from beside him.

The team leader turned his head and saw a short figure sitting atop a tall stool.

"Headmaster."

"You still recognize me. Then it doesn't seem too serious."

The speaker was Saint Delro Academy's headmaster, Nico Hohenheim—a legendary mage from the Highland Dwarf Alliance who specialized in incantations and prophecy, with secondary studies in alchemy and magitech engineering.

In appearance, Headmaster Nico was not the sort of dwarf most people imagined.

He was not burly, and was even somewhat thin. Fair and clean-looking, he spoke in a soft, gentle voice. If not for the long beard hanging to his waist, people might have mistaken him for a halfling.

"I screwed up the second round of the examination," the team leader said dejectedly.

"Two candidates merely passed the examination in ways we hadn't anticipated. That hardly counts as screwing it up."

"So they count as having passed?"

"Of course," Headmaster Nico replied casually. "Don't you think their methods were interesting? Although they certainly didn't demonstrate spellcasting ability during the examination, unconventional thinking is also a rare quality in a caster. Besides, they did pass. The problem wasn't with them."

"So the problem is still me."

"Yes."

So blunt. So sharp. The team leader felt like crying.

Headmaster Nico continued, "The more complex a system is, the more likely it is to have problems. I warned you before."

"But I didn't listen..."

The team leader deeply regretted it. When they had created this Phantom World, the headmaster had warned him that pursuing realism too obsessively would likely create more oversights than a simpler system design.

But at the time, he had been too confident. He believed he could create an incomparably realistic world.

After it was finished, his team had conducted numerous tests and found no problems.

The facts proved that their testing simply had not been devious enough.

"It's fine if you didn't listen. Lessons taught by experience only need to be taught once."

The team leader nearly really cried. Headmaster Nico's words were as piercing as ever.

With a little plop, the headmaster jumped down from the stool.

"You can move now, right? If you can, come with me. Let's go meet that Ram."

"Ram? Was I unconscious for three days?" the team leader asked in astonishment.

"No, you were unconscious for three years."

"Huh?"

"I'm kidding." Headmaster Nico's short legs moved swiftly ahead of him. "You were only out for two hours."

"Then what happened to Ram?"

"After he completed the commission, he was arrested by the guards. According to your design, he would have remained in prison, so we counted him as having passed and released him early. I have a few questions for him."

As they walked, Headmaster Nico explained why he wanted to see Ram.

"I examined the Phantom World's design. The people on your team didn't make any mistakes. It produced the intended effects."

"So that Ram likely used some special method," the team leader said.

"Or perhaps he was simply lucky."

Before long, they met Ram.

He sat quietly in the room. Though he was taller than the team leader and headmaster stacked together and incredibly muscular, he sat with his legs pressed together and his hands tucked between them, looking perfectly obedient.

When he saw someone enter, Ram asked, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, child. Relax," Headmaster Nico said. "I merely want to ask how you evaded the pursuers in the city."

"I-I didn't evade them. They ran into things themselves."

Headmaster Nico discreetly cast a lie-detection spell.

"And what about jumping down from that height? Was that planned as well?"

"No. They were about to catch me, so I had no choice but to jump."

"You're an honest child."

The team leader, who had been listening in, was shocked. "Headmaster, you mean he really just happened to get lucky?"

"That appears to be the case for now."

At that moment, the team leader suddenly felt a little better. Although there were indeed some problems with his design, the root cause was that this candidate simply defied common sense.

No one could imitate his method of taking the examination.

Besides, how could someone's luck possibly stay good forever? He might have passed the second round this way, but he would still be eliminated in the final examination.

Headmaster Nico, meanwhile, wore a thoughtful expression.

"How about we play a game?"

"Games are good. Ram likes games."

Headmaster Nico casually conjured a die, covered it in his hand, and gave it a few idle shakes.

"Tell me what number is on the die now, and I'll give you a piece of cake."

"Ram doesn't know."

"Just take a guess."

"Six."

Headmaster Nico opened his hand. It was indeed a six.

The team leader was utterly stunned and could not help exclaiming, "Six!"

Headmaster Nico tried several more times, and Ram guessed correctly every time.

This was no longer merely good luck.

All the team leader knew was that the lists of people barred from every casino in Larven were about to gain another name.

Headmaster Nico watched Ram with great interest and quietly used the exceptionally powerful Insight on him.

So this was where his extraordinary luck came from...

He raised his head again. "Congratulations. You've passed the examination."

"Thank you."

"Making good use of your luck is also an ability. But was the method of accepting a commission from the association and completing it yourself something you came up with?"

Upon hearing that question, Ram's underdeveloped brain began working at full speed.

The method really had not been his own idea.

Did that count as cheating?

If it did, would it implicate Boss Jia Xiu?

No. He could not implicate Boss.

"Ram thought of it himself."

"You're lying."

Ram began to sweat. He could not outplay this little guy.

"The name you're thinking of right now—by sheer coincidence, I can read your thoughts."

Ram was utterly shocked. Don't think about Jia Xiu. Don't think about Jia Xiu. Oh no, all he could think about was Jia Xiu.

"Jia Xiu, right?"

Ram shook his head frantically.

"That Mia from the previous batch of candidates—was she also connected to Jia Xiu?"

Headmaster Nico received an affirmative answer from Ram's mind.

"All right, you may leave now. Keep working hard in the next round."

"The next round?"

Ram froze. "I can take part in the next round?"

"Of course. You're the fastest candidate so far to reach the qualifying line."

Headmaster Nico smiled as he saw Ram out of the room.

"Headmaster, this Jia Xiu..."

The team leader had finally found the true culprit behind his great failure.

Nico clasped his hands behind his back and paced back and forth.

"This Jia Xiu ranked first in the written examination. Full marks, and he handed in early. Even I couldn't get full marks on that paper. Then, in the second round, he helped two candidates with poor practical abilities pass the examination by exploiting loopholes. What is he trying to do?"

"Make money?"

"Impossible," Nico rejected the idea outright. "If it were for money, why pick these two oddballs? And use such a strange method... He's challenging the academy!"

The headmaster pointed with one small hand, as though he had seen through the truth of the matter.

"Yes, that's it. A genius youth has to have some personality. To him, the examination isn't merely us choosing him—it is also him choosing us. This Jia Xiu is likely using loopholes to remind us that the quality of our examinations is insufficient. If this continues, he won't choose Saint Delro."

"What should we do now?"

Although Saint Delro was a prestigious academy and had no shortage of applicants, there could never be too many genius students. If Jia Xiu chose a "friendly academy," it would also be a loss for Saint Delro's recruitment efforts.

Headmaster Nico smiled faintly. "Who wasn't a genius youth once? No need to rush. We'll play along with him. Before the third batch of candidates begins their examination, I'll help patch up the problems in the Phantom World..."